Organised by the Council of Europe with the support of the European Union, the French Government and the local authorities of Alsace and Strasbourg.

Description:

Nearly 600 political leaders, civil society activists, journalists and business leaders from all of Eastern, South- Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus will meet in Strasbourg to discuss the developments which have occurred in the exercise of power when faced with the crises of our time.

The Summer University is the annual highlight of the Council of Europe’s 16 schools of political studies which aim to train the next generation of political, economic, social and cultural leaders in transition countries.

Speakers :

- Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland will open the Summer University on Monday 28 June at 9 a.m. and Sylvie Kauffmann, Editor in Chief, “Le Monde”, will give an opening lecture.

- Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries, Parliamentary Assembly President (PACE) Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Vasko Naumovski, Deputy Prime Minister for European integration of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, on behalf of the Committee of Ministers chairmanship, and President of the European Association of the Schools of Political Studies Catherine Lalumiere are among the opening speakers.

- Bamir Topi, President of the Republic of Albania, Ludmilla Alexeeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Sakharov Prize winner 2009, and Bianca Jagger, founder and chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, London, will participate in the closing session on Friday 2 July at which a final declaration is due to be adopted.

Practical information:

- A press breakfast will be given by Jean-Louis Laurens, Council of Europe Director General of Democracy and Political Affairs, Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg, and Jack Hanning, Secretary General of the European Association of the Schools of Political Studies, on Wednesday 23 June at 9am. (Room 1, 2nd floor of the Palais de l’Europe).

- The plenary sessions, workshops and thematic conferences are open to the press, as opposed to the bilateral meetings and meetings in the ECHR.

- The opening and closing sessions of the Summer University will be webcast live at www.coe.int